Foreclosure Archives - Page 17 of 19 - Kingcade Garcia McMaken, P.A. Bankruptcy Attorneys

Foreclosures increase in South Florida indicating Mortgage Lenders have worked through Paperwork Problems

Posted on October 18, 2011by Admin

New reports from two industry experts indicate that lenders are beginning to speed up their home-repossession practices, which have been delayed due to last year’s “robo-signing” scandal. Third-quarter foreclosure filings rose 13.2 percent to 9,170 in Miami-Dade County, compared to the previous quarter, according to data released Thursday by real estate research firm RealtyTrac. In Broward, total filings were up 36.9 percent in the third quarter to 7,712.

The increase in foreclosure filings is an indication that foreclosures delayed by the slowdown are beginning to work their way through the system. Current foreclosure totals are still far below last year’s numbers, but the trend is starting to shift upwards. The increase in new initial filings of foreclosure is a national trend; new default notices increased 14 percent nationwide in the third quarter.

Foreclosure defense attorney, Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Governor Gone Crazy

Posted on October 4, 2011by Admin

With Florida having the nation’s second-highest foreclosure rate and court proceedings taking an average of 638 days, the pressure has mounted for the state to eliminate courts from the foreclosure process. Supporters of the concept-which is used in nearly 30 states, say it will speed up the foreclosure process, get houses back onto the real estate market and boost the economy. Opponents say it puts property owners at the mercy of banks.

Governor Rick Scott, House Speaker Dean Cannon and Senate President Mike Haridopolos are proponents of new legislation which will change Florida laws so judges will no longer be necessary in the foreclosure process. Florida is one of the 20 states that require all foreclosures go through the court system.
Even in states where judges are not forced to preside over foreclosure cases, property owners can take the proceedings to court. However, with the filing fee being nearly $2,000 in the State of Florida, that’s cost prohibitive for most people struggling to keep their home and their finances intact. Taking away individuals’ property rights is denying their ability to access the courts.

This has not been the first attempt to eliminate courts from the foreclosure process. In 2010, the Florida Bankers Association pushed unsuccessfully to change the state’s law so judges did not need to sign off on foreclosures. Representative Darren Soto, D-Orlando, who fought against the 2010 legislation, said he will fight again if it returns in 2012.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Recent Ruling could have major implications on Florida Foreclosures setting Precedent for Similar Cases

Posted on September 18, 2011by Admin

A recent ruling in Wellington, FL could have major implications on foreclosure proceedings statewide. The ruling from the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the owners of a Wellington home whose bank filed papers sworn by a loan service employee who had no personal knowledge of the case.

This decision reversed an earlier ruling stating the homeowners owed more than $400,000 to LaSalle Bank. The amount was based on an affidavit of indebtedness signed by an employee who obtained the information from a company computer.

The decision hits at the essence of the nation’s foreclosure robo-signing scandal in which tens of thousands of foreclosure court documents were signed by people swearing they had personal knowledge of cases when they did not. From July 2010 to June of this year more then 100,000 foreclosure cases were dismissed in Florida courts often because lenders did not file important paperwork properly.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

U.S. is set to Sue Big Banks over Mortgages

Posted on September 10, 2011by Admin

The Federal agency that oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is scheduled to file suit against more than a dozen big banks. The suit is accusing Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and other banks of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the height of the housing bubble, and are seeking billions of dollars in compensation.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits are expected to be filed in the coming days and stem from subpoenas the finance agency issued to banks a year ago. The suits will argue the banks, which assembled the mortgages and marketed them as securities to investors, failed to perform the due diligence required under securities law and missed evidence that borrowers’ incomes were inflated or falsified. When many borrowers were unable to pay their mortgages, the securities backed by the mortgages quickly lost value. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lost more than $30 billion, in part as a result of the deals. These losses were borne mostly to tax payers.
The suits are being filed now because regulators are concerned that it will be much harder to make claims after a three-year statute of limitations expires this Wednesday, the third anniversary of the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

If you have any questions on this topic or are in need of a financial fresh start, please contact our experienced team of bankruptcy and foreclosure defense attorneys at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Bankruptcy Attorney Timothy Kingcade Discusses Bankruptcy Trends with South Florida’s Sun-Sentinel

Posted on September 10, 2011by Admin

Bankruptcy attorney Timothy Kingcade was recently quoted in the Sun-Sentinel and talked bankruptcy trends with workplace reporter, Marcia Pounds. The story was published on September 2, 2011 and discussed how the number of South Florida consumers filing for bankruptcy fell nearly 21 percent, to 2,690 in August, from 3,387 that same month in 2010.

Timothy Kingcade attributes this trend to a stalled home foreclosure process and people being unable to afford to file bankruptcy. “I see so many people who have been unemployed for 18 months. They say, ‘I need to file, but I need a job first,’ he said.

Since 1996 Timothy Kingcade has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow by taking advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection laws. To compliment Attorney Kingcade’s extensive experience in bankruptcy law, he is also a certified public accountant (CPA), which provides him with a unique understanding of how to handle tax-motivated bankruptcy cases against the IRS.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Burt Reynolds Florida Home in Foreclosure

Posted on September 4, 2011by Admin

It seems that even Hollywood celebrities are not exempt from financial difficulties these days. Burt Reynolds joins the list of Hollywood celebrities that recently had their home foreclosed upon. The 4-acre waterfront estate the actor owned in Hobe Sound, Florida had a $1.2 million mortgage on the house, which reports state had not been paid since September 2010.

Merrill Lynch is asking a judge to order the Reynolds’ home be sold to satisfy all debts, including a $750,000 second mortgage held by Bank Atlantic. It is reported that the Mediterranean-style home, which has a swimming pool, private beach, boat dock, cinema and its own hair salon, is valued at $2.4 million.

To read more on the story visit:

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/burt-reynolds-bottoms-florida-foreclosure/story?id=14324008
http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/17/real_estate/burt_reynolds_foreclosure/index.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/burt-reynolds-facing-foreclosure_n_930443.html

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Trend Alert: Decline in Foreclosure Activity in U.S. Metro Areas

Posted on August 11, 2011by Admin

It has been reported that the nation’s largest metropolitan areas are seeing a sharp drop in foreclosure activity as banks take longer to move against homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments. According to Realty Trac Inc. in the first half of this year, 84 percent of metropolitan areas with a population of at least 200,000 saw their foreclosure rate drop versus the same period last year.

In total, foreclosure activity declined in 178 of the country’s 211 largest metropolitan areas during the first six months of the year. The decline is due to delays in the foreclosure process as lenders work through foreclosure documentation problems that first surfaced last fall. Those problems prompted them to resubmit paperwork on many properties that had been slated for foreclosure and led to a slew of government investigations of the mortgage industry. Mortgage banks also have put off taking action against newly delinquent borrowers in order to try loan modifications or other tactics aimed at avoiding foreclosure.

This has resulted in some 1.7 million potential foreclosures being held up. The slowdown in foreclosure activity has been pronounced in states like Florida, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Illinois, where courts play a major role in the foreclosure process and are only beginning to sort through the backlog of cases.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Foreclosure Relief Effort Finally Kicks Off- But there’s a Catch

Posted on June 25, 2011by Admin

A long-awaited $1 billion program designed to provide the unemployed with loans to assist them in avoiding foreclosure is finally underway. But there’s a catch: Homeowners will have only one month to apply. The new Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program aims to help unemployed homeowners with their mortgage payments by providing zero-interest loans of up to $50,000. The program is expected to aid 30,000 borrowers, and the loans can be forgiven over five years. Homeowners will need to apply by July 22 to be eligible for the program. Borrowers must be approved by September 30. At this point, the government’s authority to make new loans will have run out, so timing is everything!

Foreclosure defense attorney, Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on this topic or would like to schedule a FREE office consultation, contact our experienced team of foreclosure defense attorneys today at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

How Filing Bankruptcy Can Help you Avoid Foreclosure

Posted on May 14, 2011by Admin

If you are facing foreclosure, bankruptcy can be a powerful alternative to saving your home. Filing Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy automatically places a stay on foreclosure of your property; provided that you include the house as part of your bankruptcy and that your home is your personal residence. Upon filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, the bankruptcy court automatically sends all of your creditors an order directing them to cease collection activity on your property. The “Order for Relief” legally postpones the foreclosure while the bankruptcy is pending, which can last approximately three to four months.

However, it’s important to remember that timing is everything. If you allow your foreclosure proceedings to continue beyond the point of no return and the foreclosure notice is already filed with the courts, the automatic stay means nothing and foreclosure will continue. You have to make sure that you file the bankruptcy before the foreclosure is filed and your auction date set. This is best accomplished by filing the bankruptcy after your first missed mortgage payment.

While the bankruptcy is pending, and the weight of paying other creditors is lifted, this is your opportunity to take your resources that do not go directly to immediate living expenses (i.e. – food, utilities, gas and transportation) and channel that money directly into a lump sum payment to satisfy the mortgage company. If you head into bankruptcy court with the resources to reinstate your loan, you will have avoided foreclosure.

If you have any questions on this topic or are in need of a financial fresh start, please contact our experienced team of bankruptcy attorneys at (305) 285-9100. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

U.S. Regulators Order Banks to Quickly Improve their Foreclosure Practices

Posted on April 29, 2011by Admin

U.S. regulators have ordered 14 financial institutions to lay out plans to clean up their mortgage-servicing operations- and another 60 days to make the changes. Recently Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and their federal regulator established new guidelines designed to encourage more successful modifications while preventing foreclosures from dragging on. The rules will require servicers to approach borrowers earlier and more frequently after a first missed payment in order to have a better chance at modifying loans. The mortgage titans will also pay more to servicers that meet certain benchmarks and establish timelines for banks to modify loans or process foreclosures.

Below are the requirements of the new regulatory order and how the banks have adjusted so far:

Single point of contact. Borrowers who have been bounced from one bank employee to another must get a “single point of contact” to steer them through loan modification the foreclosure process.

In June, Wells Fargo & Co. began assigning an employee and backup employee to each borrower seeking a loan modification. It plans to expand the effort to foreclosures and short sales, or sales for less than what is owed on the property.

Ally Financial Inc. assigns borrowers who have had trouble submitting a completed financial package a team of employees to help them gather documents, execute a final loan modification or weigh other foreclosure alternatives.

J.P. Morgan is working on a software program to make it easier for employees and borrowers to track loan-modification requests. Last year, it started providing some borrowers with a “relationship manager” to advise on the process.

Citigroup now provides borrowers with a single point of contact for gathering documents and handling short sales. In the next months, it will roll out a “concierge” system that will assign a small team of employees to help delinquent borrowers and homeowners at risk of default navigate the system.

Deadlines. Banks are required to set “appropriate deadlines” for deciding whether borrowers can get a loan workout.

Wells Fargo’s initial reviews average 79 days. Ally Financial said it responds to the average borrower within seven to 10 days of receiving a complete financial package. At Citigroup, the goal is to give borrowers a final answer about a permanent modification within 22 days of their final trial payment.

Staffing levels. Banks must make sure they have enough employees to deal with the tidal wave of troubled loans.

J.P. Morgan said it will add as many as 3,000 new home-lending jobs, mostly drawing the workers from elsewhere in the company. BofA said it hired roughly 3,000 people in the first quarter to work on troubled mortgages. Citigroup said it will expand its loan-modification unit by 500 employees.

Wells Fargo doesn’t expect to increase staffing because the number of borrowers behind on loan payments is declining. It might transfer employees from other parts of the company with excess capacity.